WHO TURNED THE LIGHTS OUT?

Act 16:25-40, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.   And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.   And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.   But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 

Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?   And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.   And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 

And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.   And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” 

I. WORSHIP

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Though they had suffered much, yet they had reason to apprehend more. They sought, therefore, the sustaining grace of God. THEY PRAYED

Elihu said, “But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night” (Job 35:10). Psa. 57:7, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” THEY SANG

Man learned to sing during the most difficult times Man learned to sing during the most difficult times. Whether it be the slaves singing the old spirituals, or the people of God crossing the Red Sea; singing soothes us! THEY SANG

THEY HEARD “and the prisoners heard them.” In the darkness of night, the gospel was being taught through the harmony of two saints! Eph. 5:19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” THEY HEARD

II. WONDER

1) First Wonder: The Earthquake “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”  1) First Wonder: The Earthquake

1) First Wonder: The Earthquake What took place was the WONDROUS POWER of God. Sometimes God responds with a small whisper, and other times He responds with the sound of the thunder or the quaking of the earth. 1) First Wonder: The Earthquake

This was not the first time God responded to the prayers of he saints with the shaking of the earth! Act 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” 

2) Second Wonder: The Foundations Shaken & the Doors Open “… so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened.” At the incarceration of Peter and John: Acts 5:19, “But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said…” 

3. Third Wonder: Chains Were Loosed “… and every one's bands were loosed.”  And yet so eminently did God’s providence conduct every thing, that not one of the prisoners made his escape, though the doors were open, and his bolts off!

III. WAKING

TWO ACTIONS BY THE GUARD (1) He Awoke Out of His Sleep “And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.” 

“Salient examples include an instance in 390 BC when some Roman guards were asleep on duty and the Citadel of Rome was attacked;  the particular guard at fault was subsequently thrown from a cliff.  In 322/295 BC, two legions yielded their post.  Men were selected from the offenders by lot, and put to death.  In 280/271, guards were scourged and beheaded, and their bodies dishonored. 

In 205 BC, guards allowed items to be stolen from a temple In 205 BC, guards allowed items to be stolen from a temple.  They had to pay back the value of the items two-fold, or else be put to death.  A similar consequence was put upon the guards that allowed two ships to be captured.  In 39 BC, two centuries (presumably about 200 men) failed to prevent a lieutenant and his men from being ambushed.  The consequence was decimation:  every tenth man was counted off, and the selected men were put to death” (Author Unknown).  

PETER’S ESCAPE FROM PRISON Acts 12:19, “And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.”  PETER’S ESCAPE FROM PRISON

(2) His Duty To Rome “He drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”

IV. WORDS

Acts 16:28-32, “But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.   Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?   And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.   And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”

1) Words of Relief “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.” This speaks volumes concerning the compassion of Paul and Silas aimed at one that had done them so much harm. Acts 16:23, 24, “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”

2) Words of Reception “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Trembling: Acts 24:25, Felix trembled and waited for a convenient season. In 1 Sam. 28:5, Saul trembled at the Philistines. The jailer trembled at the mighty power of God!

3) Response to Words Acts 16:30-32, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?   And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.   And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”

Acts 2:41, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Acts 11:13, 14, “And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.” 

The jailer asked but one question, “What must I do to be saved?” The 3 R’s in conversion: Recognition, Reception, and Rebirth.

RECOGNITION For the jailer to ask for salvation meant that he recognized the fact that he was LOST! Many people today do not want to take this first step. They want to believe that we are all sinners, thus, God will save us without any action on our part!

RECEPTION It is one thing to ask the question, it is another thing to accept it! The rich man in John 18:23 was unable to accept the words of Christ.

Acts 16:31-34, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.   And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.   REBIRTH

  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.   And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” REBIRTH

Believe--- the word of the Lord--- baptism all equate to the proper response to be born again (Jn. 3).